KALKAN
Kalkan (Greek: Kalamaki) is a town on the Turkish Mediterranean coast, which averages of 300 days of sunshine a year. The area includes many historical sites and many fine beaches. The word Kalkan is Turkish for 'shield'.
Kalkan is an old fishing town, and the only safe harbor between Kaş and Fethiye; famous for its white-washed houses, descending to the sea, and its brightly colored bougainvilleas.
Until the early 1920s the majority of its inhabitants were Greeks. They had to leave the town in 1923 because of the Exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey after the Greco-Turkish War. They emigrated mainly to Attica, where they founded the new town of Kalamaki.
With much of the surrounding land still undeveloped and with many nearby remains of ancient civilizations, Kalkan is the ideal resort for those who want calm and relaxation, enjoy the natural beauty of the cleanest seashores, of rough mountains covered with pine forests, and also for those who want to explore the remains of the ancient Lycian cities in the neighborhood.
Lycia, "The Land of Light", which is the first known federation in history, included the many city states between modern day Fethiye and Antalya, and its capital was Xanthos (Arna in Lycian language), which is Kinik today, 17 km (11 mi) from Kalkan.
Kalkan was an important harbour town until 1970's as the only sea port for the environs. It declined after construction of Fethiye road but revived after the emergence of the tourism industry in the region.
Although part of the Antalya province administratively, Kalkan is connected more closely to Fethiye economically and for transportation.
British newspaper The Independent listed Kalkan among the best tourist destinations for 2007. The paper recommended Kalkan especially for those seeking a romantic vacation and who do not want to travel far from their home country in Europe, and defined the town as a destination of choice.
KAYMAKLI
Kaymaklı Underground City is contained within the citadel of Kaymaklı. First opened to tourists in 1964, the village is about 19km from Nevşehir, on the Nevşehir-Niğde road. The ancient name was Enegup. The houses in the village are constructed around the nearly one hundred tunnels of the underground city. The tunnels are still used today as storage areas, stables, and cellars. The underground city at Kaymaklı differs from Derinkuyu in terms of its structure and layout. The tunnels are lower, narrower, and more steeply inclined. Of the four floors open to tourists, each space is organized around ventilation shafts. This makes the design of each room or open space dependent on the availability of ventilation.
A stable is located on the first floor. The small size of the stable could indicate that other stables exist in the sections not yet opened. To the left of the stable is a passage with a millstone door. The door leads into a church. To the right of the stables are rooms, possibly living spaces.
Located on the second floor is a church with a nave and two apses. Located in front of the apses is a baptismal front, and on the sides along the walls are seating platforms. Names of people contained in graves here coincide with those located next to the church, which supports the idea that these graves belonged to religious people. The church level also contains some living spaces.
The third floor contains the most important areas of the underground compound: storage places, wine or oil presses, and kitchens. The level also contains a remarkable block of andesite with relief textures. Recently it was shown that this stone was used as a pot to melt copper. The stone was hewn from an andesite layer within the complex. In order for it to be used in metallurgy, fifty-seven holes were carved into the stone. The technique was to put copper ore into each of the holes (about 10cm in diameter) and then to hammer the ore into place. The copper was probably mined between Aksaray and Nevşehir. This mine was also used by Asilikhoyuk, the oldest settlement within the Cappadocia Region.
The high number of storage rooms and areas for earthenware jars on the fourth floor indicates some economic stability. Kaymaklı is one of the largest underground settlements in the region. The large area reserved for storage in such a limited area appears to indicate the need to support a large population underground. Currently only a fraction of the complex is open to the public.
KAYSERI
Kayseri, named in the antiquity Mazaka or Mazarca, Eusebia, Caesarea Cappadociae, and later Kaisariyah, is a large and industrialized city in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Kayseri Province. The city of Kayseri, as defined by the boundaries of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, is structurally composed of five metropolitan districts, the two core districts of Kocasinan and Melikgazi, and since 2004, also Hacılar, İncesu and Talas. In conjunction with the addition of new districts and first stage municipalities into the metropolitan area, the city's population, which was 690,000 in 2000, is currently 895,253.
KONYA (ICONIUM)
Konya (also Koniah, Konieh, Konia, and Qunia; historically also known as Iconium (Latin)) is a city in Turkey, on the central plateau of Anatolia. It has a population of 1,412,343 (in 2007).
Excavations have shown that the region was inhabited during the Late Copper Age, around 3000 BC. The city came under the influence of the Hittites around 1500 BC. These were overtaken by the Indo-European Sea Peoples around 1200 BC. The Phyrigians established their kingdom in central Anatolia in the 8th century BC. Xenophon describes Iconium, as the city was called, as the last city of Phrygia. The region was overwhelmed by Cimmerian invaders c. 690 BC. It was later part of the Persian Empire, until Darius III was defeated by Alexander the Great in 333 BC. Alexander's empire broke up shortly after his death and the town came under the rule of Seleucus I Nicator. During the Hellenistic period the town was ruled by the kings of Pergamon. As Attalus III, the last king of Pergamon, was about to die without an heir, he bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. Under the rule of emperor Claudius, the city's name was changed to Claudioconium, and during the rule of emperor Hadrianus to Colonia Aelia Hadriana.
Saint Paul and Barnabas preached in Iconium during the First Missionary Journey in about 47-48 AD (see Acts 14:1-5 and Acts 14:21), and Paul and Silas again visted it during the Second Missionary Journey in about 50 (see Acts 16:2) and probably also the Third Missionary Journey in about 52 (see Acts 19:1). In Christian legend, it was also the birthplace of Saint Thecla. During the Byzantine Empire the town was destroyed several times by Arab invaders in the 7th-9th centuries.
KUŞADASI
Kuşadası is a resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast and the center of the seaside district of the same name in Aydın Province. Kuşadası lies at a distance of 90 km (56 mi) to the south from the region's largest metropolitan center of Izmir, and 71 km (44 mi) from the provincial seat of Aydın situated inland. Its primary industry is tourism.
